Jesus Empathized with Us

"We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin." -Hebrews 4:15

Do you ever have days where you feel like no one else understands?  I'm sure we've all had those days - we feel like the only one who has a less than ideal job, the only one with family issues, the only one struggling with sickness, who is stressed, or the only one who is single or who doesn’t have what we want out of life.

But you know what?  Our God and king has experienced all the things we go through - and even more. Another translation of this verse says, "This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin." (NLT)  We may not fully understand how God as man was able to go through the things we experienced, but we know since He lived on earth, He experienced life on life’s terms.  The night before His arrest, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not Mine." (Luke 22:42) I can only imagine what He must have been going through at that time.

Due to Jesus' overcoming death, He gives new life to us.  Could it be that within our struggles, He is working His overcoming life in us? As we overcome difficulty, we can help others overcome as well.  We are never alone in anything we go through - Jesus is right there with us, every step of the way, even if it may not feel like it.

Do you believe that God is with you every step of the way, and understands how you feel?  "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4:16  God wants us to know that He is with us - and He can help us overcome any obstacle we may face, as we go boldly before His throne of grace. 

Resiliency

"'All right, you may test him,' the Lord said to Satan. 'Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically.' So Satan left the Lord's presence." -Job 1:12
 
I wonder if God and Satan ever have the above conversation about you and I. Often things happen to us over which we have no control, that do not appear to be a consequence of any sin or action we have taken. It is true that doing the right things don't always equal everything working out according to plan: God is not a vending machine - we can't make Him to do the things we want based on our behavior. But, we can trust Him that what He has promised will come to pass at the appointed time. (Habakkuk 2:3) 

It is during the desert times when we are most tested in our hearts. We will continue to believe that God loves us? Will we continue to believe and trust Him, in spite of what seems like a void of hope? Will we continue to do the right things, "No matter what"? It is these times when we are tested, to see if we will be found resilient in our faith. 

Job was tested so greatly, he lost his business, his family, and his health. His friends didn't understand what he was going through and assumed he had done something to offend God. Job also did not understand - and questioned God as to why He had to go through such hardship, even though he thought he had done all the right things. God responded - "Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?" (Job 40:2) and Job repented. "I know that you can do anything..I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." (Job 42) 

Righteousness doesn't always equal lack of hardship. But resiliency in faith reserves our heavenly reward. Will you be found resilient in your faith?

Overcoming Negative Circumstances

"Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens.  Don’t turn away from me, or I will die.  Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.  Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you." -Ps 143:7 & 8

Sometimes life is hard.  When we go through difficult seasons, we may question God's presence, His goodness, His love for us, or the dreams He placed within us.  "Why on earth would this happen to me, God, if You are loving and just!?" we may ask.

However, this is exactly the posture the enemy wants us to have.  Whenever bad things happen, as they did to Job, the enemy wants to get in the middle and tell us God doesn't love us, He doesn't care about us, and He doesn't have a plan for our lives. He wants us to turn against our God.  These statements are a complete and total lie!

But, how do we get to the truth, when all our circumstances point to the negative?  It may be that we have never known anything besides the negativity that surrounds us. 

First, we need to get in the word, to read what God says about us and our situation.  We need to pray, even if we don't feel like it.  We need to worship, to praise God in spite of whatever is going on - in His word it says that praise is the antidote for heaviness.  (Is 6:13) We need to get around encouraging people.  And most of all we need to believe - to have faith that in spite of any difficulty, our God is still victorious.  We have to realize that we live in a fallen world, and that God does not want us to go through negative things, but He will use them for our good. (Romans 8:28)

Are you going through something negative right now?  Stay in faith, let God be your hope, and even if things don't change immediately stay in faith that God will do what He promised. The answer may not come at the time we expect, but it doesn't change the fact that God loves us, and sent His son to die for us, so that we could live in heaven, eternally with Him.

Arrested Development

Photo credit: http://izoooba.deviantart.com/art/Sad-Kid-244199365

"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." -1 Cor 13:11
 
Dr. Paul Hegstrom is the author of a book called Broken Children, Grown Up Pain. A psychologist himself, Dr. Hegstrom describes a phenomenon known as "arrested development", in which people are emotionally stunted due to past childhood traumas that occur before the ages of 9 and 12 years old. 

I went through a biblically-based training he developed called Lifeskills, and the knowledge and revelation I received was truly life-changing. Traumatic experiences are classified as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect, and excessive rejection. When these experiences happen when we're young, we take them in as truth. "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6 The enemy's lies about us and our identity can get planted very early - limiting us from being able to receive God's love for us and understand our true identity and calling in Him. 

Dr. Drew Pinsky, famed celebrity psychiatrist and host of the show Loveline also describes this phenomenon happening in our culture today, as it relates to the increasing trend of narcissism: "As I continue to talk with these people {celebrities}, they usually reveal childhood experiences that were clearly traumatic - the kinds of damaging episodes that are at the root of narcissistic disorders." pg. 106, The Mirror Effect 
 
But, there is good news! God can heal us of any kind of wound we may have experienced during our growing up years. "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."  - Isaiah 58:8 

Can you see any areas where you might be arrested in your emotions? Can you see where others might have had some wounds in their past? Pray and ask God to help to heal you in these areas, and that you also might be a healing force in the life of someone else. Our heavenly Father desires that we be healed of any lie from the enemy, so that we can grow strong in our faith and know His love, be free from our wounds, and come to full maturity in Him. His love never fails. (1 Cor 13:8)

Fighting with Light

“for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” -1 Cor 3:3

Have you ever been short or ill-tempered with somebody?  I know I have, and I am not proud of it. We can say we are Christians but we still have bad days - days where we’re tired or stressed out, days where it doesn’t seem like anything is going right.  It is during those days where we can easily succumb to our flesh, or we can choose to let God flow through us in the midst of the challenges we face. 

The Bible talks about the kind of weapons we use as the redeemed of God. Our weapons are not the same as the world’s.  “On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  1 Cor 10:4  Every day, we have a choice to make - to fall back into the defenses of our flesh or deciding to trust God and let Him take over, letting ourselves be influenced by His Holy Spirit.  We realize it’s not up to us to change something - we just need to be obedient and let God work. 

The enemy wants nothing more than to get under our skin - to kick us into our flesh so that we will sin.  That is his ultimate goal - to keep you and me from the victory zone God intends for us! 

We can’t fight flesh with flesh if we are going to win a spiritual war.  We have to let the Spirit flow through us in order for the light to overcome darkness.  All that has to happen for darkness to flee is for true light to shine.

Are you fighting with God’s love and light today?  Let God’s spirit flow through you, so that every day you can walk in His wonderful mercy, grace, peace, love, truth and joy. 

Overcoming Evil with Good

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” -Romans 12:21

What does it mean to overcome evil with good? Many days it may seem as though we are being overcome by negativity.  But, how do we get out of the mire? What did God have in mind for the way we should live our lives?

I love the verses leading up to the scripture above: "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves... keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse... If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  This is our blueprint for walking in love.

When life hits us with hard blows, in order to win, we shouldn't hit back. The natural response is to pay back evil for evil, to lash out or to avenge ourselves, but that only allows the enemy of our souls a foothold in our lives. Instead, we are to be different. Instead, we are to be counter-culture.  We are to overcome evil, by applying the good.  We are to win over the situation by applying God's ways, and by putting Him first.

When we are freed from feeling the need to avenge a negative situation that we have no control over, that's when we know that area in our lives has been redeemed. When we can give freely and walk in peace, that is overcoming. Sometimes continued negativity or drama can become an idol in our lives when we live with it too long.  We have to lay the situation at the foot of the cross. We'll know we're freed from its power when it doesn't bother us anymore. God has instead taken its place in our lives.  We are at ease.

Let us do all we can, and let God handle the rest.  Let us overcome evil with good.

Overcoming Barriers

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." -Romans 12:21
 

Have you ever wanted to get somewhere, but you just felt stuck? Have you ever encountered something you felt was blocking your way that you just couldn't get past? There will always be things in life that will try to hinder us from our intended destinations. The enemy of our souls wants nothing more than to see us stuck and unable to fulfill what God has planned for us! 

Sometimes though, the barrier may be there for a reason. What is God trying to show us? What do we need to change about ourselves or give over to God to get to the next place? Often the barrier is not what we think it is. Sometimes, the barrier is ourselves! Even if we think we are in the right, the barrier is about our growth. 

The Israelites were on their way, fleeing from the Egyptians after finally being released from slavery under the iron hand of Pharaoh. But, no sooner had they left Eqypt that Pharaoh gave orders to pursue them. "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, 'Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?'" -Exodus 14:10&11. Clearly, this was not what they had in mind. 

Then Moses said to them in response, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14: 13&14 "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land." (v.21) 

There was no way in the natural the Israelites were going to be able to avoid the Eqyptians. But because Moses stood in faith on behalf of the Israelites and acted in obedience - in spite of dire circumstances - God stepped in and made a way for them.

Is there a "Red Sea" standing in your way today? Pray for God's grace to get you through that situation, and ask to see it through His eyes. God calls us to be overcomers, through Him!

Working All Things for Good

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people." -Genesis 50:20

Joseph was sold into slavery at about 17 years old by his own brothers.  Joseph was sold into slavery at about 17 years old. He was sold by his own brothers! 

Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, and as such, was hated by his brothers who were full of jealousy toward him.  After Joseph told his brothers a dream about the fact that they would one day bow to him, they had had enough - they wanted to get rid of him.  At first their plan was to kill him, but Joseph's brother Reuben intervened, "Why should we shed any blood? Let's just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him." (Gen 37:22) Afterward, he was sold to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver (v.28), and then to an officer of Pharaoh in Egypt, named Potiphar.

You might already know the rest of the story.  After a series of unlikely events (and many years), Joseph ends up second in command in all of Eqypt. And he is there to save his family and the tribe of Israel when a 7 year famine hits, the one prophesied in his dream years before.  Joseph was 30 when he rose to power. Thirteen years had passed!  But what a turn-around - from slave to prince. God used the negative things in Joseph's life to prepare him for his destiny.

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."  I have absolutely found this to be true in many areas of my life.  Have you? 

If there is any negative situation in your life now, God can turn it around for His glory.  Will you trust Him to bring you to the fulfillment of that promise?  He desires to turn anything bad around for His glory and cause it to work together for good.

Dealing with Betrayal

"So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe - the ornate robe he was wearing- and they took him and threw him into the cistern." -Gen 37:23 & 24  

Have you ever had something happen to you that wasn't fair?  Have you ever been falsely accused or wrongly judged?  It is in these situations where our emotions can get the better of us.  But, we have to stand firm and "be the bigger person" in order to see the fulfillment of God's purposes in our lives.  

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers - he was betrayed by his own family! Isn't it interesting that the people who should have been his biggest advocates were his betrayers?  Joseph had to trust God. Even during his time in the Egyptian prison he had to remain pure and avoid becoming bitter. His obedience was what allowed him to rise, even in the midst of false accusations.  

When people do wrong to us, we must be the bigger person.  Even if the person should know better, if we feel ourselves getting angry or bitter, we must decide to be the bigger person.  Maybe someone has a limited understanding of something, even a leader.  Give them grace.  Maybe someone is acting out of fear and pain.  Give them space. It is a test we must undergo so that God's bigger purposes may be revealed in our lives.  

Have you ever been betrayed?  How did you respond?  Determine to forgive the person who wronged you.  Maintain an attitude of forgiveness.  Be the bigger person.  God works through vessels that let go of offenses and trust Him for the bigger plan. 



Forgetting the Former Things

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  Is 43:18-20

Are there things from your past that you keep going back to?  Old mistakes, past regrets, personal failures, or things that you still feel guilt over? Are there things that you need to “forget” or stop dwelling on in your life?

In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were far away from God, rebelling and worshipping other gods, the prophet Isaiah was one of the prophets to call them into account. But, even though the Israelites had done horrible things, (even sacrificing their children to idols! Ezekiel 16:20), God was willing to give them another chance. 

“‘Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.  Though they are red like crimson,  I will make them as white as wool.’” - Isaiah 1:18

Sometimes we are unable to fully move forward in life because we are continually looking behind us.  Mistakes, regrets, and avoidable circumstances may continue to plague us even after we’ve asked forgiveness and laid it to rest - even against ourselves! But the fact of the matter is, when the past is behind us, and we’ve been forgiven, it really is no more.   Satan wants our past and present to be our future. But God always sees us for who we are becoming.

Are you ready to receive God’s forgiveness, and decide to let go of the “former things”? Pray and ask God to give you the strength and grace to leave the past behind you.  

A Lesson in Chores

Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. -2 Corinthians 12:9

"I'd like for you to load the dishes in this way. This is how the instruction manual says to do it!"

"Oh my gosh, do I seriously have to put the dishes in the dishwasher that way?" I thought. My 19 year old self was fighting what appeared to be pointless detail for something that really was not all that important, in my opinion: dishwasher loading. 

"If you put them in this way, you can fit more in!" said my stepmom. "Ok," I said, keeping a cheerful attitude. After all, they were letting me stay with them until I got back on my feet: I needed to be agreeable! 

A few weeks later I was asked if I could clean the house. "Ok," I said. However, upon careful inspection of my work, it was revealed that I missed a few spots. "Could you go back over this and this?" said my stepmom "Argh," I thought. "This is ridiculous. This attention to detail is really starting to get under my skin!"
 
Looking back I realize that God had a lesson for me in "the details." I am naturally not a very detailed person. But, during that time, God was putting a finger on my lack of detailedness, something He wanted to strengthen in me. I cannot tell you how much this has helped me in life! 

Has God allowed situations in your life to help you with your weaknesses? Let Him work through your weaknesses, so that His purposes can be fulfilled in your life.